3D Printed Cars May Be the Way of the Future by
Earlier I found a brilliant post posted earlier today, by admin, over on Investing Money entitled 3D Printed Cars May Be the Way of the Future by that I would strongly encourage you all to read! Below are a couple of extracts to whet your appetites!
So far weâve seen 3D-printed phone cases, shirts, buildings, human veins, braingears, and other random 3D-printed things. Whatâs next you ask? Believe it or not, two companies have joined forces to build an entirely 3D-printed car called Urbee! Not only is Urrrrrrbeeeeeeeeee a super catchy name, but the car also gets up to 200 miles per gallon on the highway, and up to 100 in the city. Now thatâs innovation! Urbee, a two passenger car, is being designed by Kor Ecologic Inc., using Stratasys 3D printers. Kor Ecologic probably chose Stratasys because their printers are considered cheap and reliable; I know that theyâre reliable because I have seen them myself and I know what they can make. But cheap? If you consider a $14,900 cheap for a small printer, then sure, why not, but I canât imagine how much a large 3D printer capable of printing car parts could cost! For those of you who donât know, 3D printers are capable of some amazing things, they can not only print different plastics of different colors like ABS and polycarbonate, but some can actually print metal using a method called âEBMâ or âElectron Beam Melting,â like those built by Arcam. Urbee does not specify what parts of the car are made of metal or plastic or which 3D printers were used.
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Urbee is also pretty sexy; it has a low profileâthe roof is only 40 inches above the ground, and it has half the coefficient of drag as traditional cars as well as a low coefficient of rolling resistance in the wheels. The company is also trying to keep Urbee affordable. Whether that means itâll be affordable to Bill Gates, or affordable to average consumers remains to be seen, but Popular Mechanics states it should run around $18,000 to $21,000. But I hope that someday, I too will be have a car that gets 200 miles to the gallon! [Urbee via Fast Company and Gizmodo] Like this? You might also enjoy⦠* Four Driverless Robotic Vans Cross Asiaâand Even Pick up Hitchhikers * Robot Hands: Now With a Softer, Gentler Touch? * Japanese Scientists Create Printer That Can Print Scents Follow GeekTech on Twitter or Facebook, or subscribe to our RSS feed. All contents copyright 1995-2010 Network World, Inc. http://www.
Now, reading this post started me thinking so I did a quick search for some more articles on the subject and found some more gems. i.e. this post by Bill Mullins, posted yesterday, on a blog called Bill Mullins’ Weblog – Tech Thoughts:
PCMag.com tested the device in PC Labs and was pretty impressed. I am a PS3 fan and there is no disputing that the Nintendo Wii was a breakthrough in motion interface design, but as of today the Kinect is the best technology on the market. Find out if it is worth the upgrade. Dragon Dictation: An Accurate Voice Transcriber – Featuring very accurate voice transcription and the ability to share messages via e-mail, Facebook, and Twitter, Naunce’s dictation app is both fun to use and immensely helpful. Internal Apple Doc Confirms Macbook Air Display Issues – Apple hasn’t publicly acknowledged that there are display issues with the 11- and 13-inch Macbook Air, but Boy Genius Report, which got its hands on an Apple confidential document, is saying otherwise.
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Now that’s innovation! (submitted by Michael F.) Today’s Quote: “I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.” - Douglas Adams Today’s Free Downloads: WizMouse – WizMouse is a tiny free/donationware utility that has a single, simple, function–if you hover your mouse over an inactive window, and use the mouse scroll wheel, it will scroll that window while keeping it inactive. This can be a boon for anyone copying text manually from an inactive window to an active one, or who needs to see data in one window (perhaps one partially obscured) while reading or working in another. It even scrolls applications that don’t offer mousewheel support by converting the wheel to clicks on the scroll bars.
Yet another fine post came from Brett over on Sheer Balance posted two days ago and entitled What Causes Varicose Veins?: Myths Debunked which is also definitely worth a look.
Varicose veins are caused by weak or damaged vein walls. As the heart pumps blood throughout the body, these damaged veins (usually occurring in the lower body) have trouble fighting gravity to pump the blood back up. The result is that blood pools in the veins and eventually bulges out, causing pain, itching, blood clots, ulcers, and fear of shorts. It sounds plausible that the compression resulting from spending significant amounts of time with one’s legs crossed could add to the blood’s pooling in the legs and impede its flow back to the heart. But although it sounds plausible, that’s just not how the vast majority of varicose veins are formed. According to reputable medical sources, such as the Mayo Clinic (and unless your grandmother is a doctor at the Mayo Clinic, she doesn’t count as a reputable medical source), the most significant risk factors for varicose veins and spider veins are age, heredity, and pregnancy. Leg crossing doesn’t even make the list.
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The older a person gets, the more likely she is to eventually develop varicose veins. It’s the natural result of a lifetime of wear and tear on the body, and there’s not much even the most devotedly fitness-minded person can change. Heredity is also a huge factor: if your father and grandfather both developed varicose veins or spider veins, there’s at least a 50 percent chance that you will, too. Pregnant women are another big group of varicose vein sufferers, because of the increased amount of blood that their veins have to carry through their bodies, as well as hormonal changes that can affect the integrity of vein walls. It’s very common for pregnant women to develop varicose veins; luckily, however, they often go away within a few months following delivery.
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According to The Vein Book, by John J. Bergan, leg crossing as a contributing factor is considered strictly conjectural—it sounds good in theory, but there’s simply no hard evidence to show that it exists. Countless studies have shown no connection between leg crossing and vein problems, and many doctors have noted that the supposed “compression” caused by crossing one’s legs isn’t nearly strong enough to truly impede blood flow. The TakeawayAn ordinary active person without any additional risk factors for venous malformations doesn’t need to worry. However, pregnant women, elderly people, people with a family history of varicose veins, or anybody with any reason at all to err on the side of caution may want to uncross, just to be on the safe side. In fact, everyone—regardless of vein risk—should take care of her legs by exercising regularly, maintaining a healthy weight, and never sitting or standing in the same position for too long.